Snow annihilating machine



ct@ 3 93. .B ROMAN sNow ANNIHILATING MACHINE Filed June 16, 1939 Patented Oct. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,174,842 sNow ANNIHILATING MACHINE Benjamin Roman, New York, N. Y.

Application June 16, 1939, Serial No. 279,392

9 Claims.

that severe suffering i3 inicted upon communities, in which the streets or roadways are stricken with snowfalls.

The principal object of the invention is to remedy the above mentioned disadvantages, and to provide a simple, economical, and eiiicient machine, which will forthwith and completely destroy the snow.

Another object is to provide a machine which will annihilate the snow directly upon the roadway.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of the snow annihilating machine of the invention, taken on the line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1. l

Fig. 3'is a transverse-sectional elevation showing a detail of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a top plan diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which a plurality of these machines may be utilized simultaneously for clearing up a street roadway of its snowfall with maximum eiiiciency and dispatch.

The snow annihllatingmachine ,I constituting the invention embodies an automobile truck chassis 2, including a base-frame 3, traction Wheels, 4, 5, a cab 6 for the driver or operator, 40 and a rearwardly situated automobile 4driving engine 1. Upon and to the frame 3 is secured a housing 8 having re-bricked walls 9 protected by temperature insulation I0, which housing provides an internal combustion chamber or furnace II having therein oil-burning nozzles I2 that are connected by oil and air conduits I3 to an oil burner I4 driven by the engine 1 and are fed by a line I5 leading from a crude-oil tank I6 secured to the underside of frame 3. Situated partially within the furnace II as shown and partially on the exterior underneath the frame 3 and in contact with or proximity to the roadway I1, in the manner shown in Fig. 1, is provided an apron I8, consisting of a continuity of cylindrical shells I9 held together by being pivotally strung at their ends to the pintles 20 of link elements 2| of continuous link-chains 22, the apron I8 being conveyable out of and into said furnace through gateways 23 provided in the underside of the furnace II as illustrated. Y 5 A rotatable shaft 24 passing transversely through the interior of the furnace II and projecting therefrom carries `-an exterior bevel gear 25 and sprockets` 26 that mesh directly with the shell cylinders I9 as shown in Fig. 1. An additional )0 shaft 24a, located under the frame 3 carries similar sprockets 26, meshing with the cylinders I9 thereat, and an exterior sprocket-wheel 21, the latter driving the shaft 24a by being in mesh with a sprocket-chain 28 meshing in turn with lo a wheel 29 on a shaft 30 driven by the rear traction-axle 3|. The gear 25 meshes with a gear 32 carried by a shaft 33 carrying a gear 34 meshing with a gear 35 upon a shaft 36 driven by theautomotive engine 1. The apron I8 being 20 thus driven through both sprockets 26 by the engine 1 as well as by the traction wheels 5 it receives great force, with which While the vehicle traverses upon its course, the apron I8, is conveyed and propelled continuously, bringing al- 25 ternately each portion thereof into the furnace II and outwardly therefrom onto the roadway I1, in the direction of the arrows, Fig. 1. Guide rollers 31, 38 located at the exit and entrance gates 23 respectively bear upon the rollers I9 30 in their travel and thereby direct the apron I8 in it circulatory movement. Theigniting and operation of the oil burner I4, as well as the propulsion of the vehicle are controlled by the driver in cab 6 in the usual manner. The exhaust 35 opening 39 of the furnace II is connected to a downwardly extending conduit 40, .the end of which is directed to the apron portion that contacts with the roadway I1, whereat it is flared as shown in Fig. 2 to emit heat from the exhaust 40 I directly upon the apron I 8. Each of the shells I 9 comprising the apron I8 may be filled with liquid 4I, Fig. 3, whereby a maximum amount of heat will be retained by the apron after emanating from the furnace II and while it is over 45 the roadway.

In the operation of the machine, the driver propels and steers the vehicle as required, and operates the oil burner to heat the'furnace II as illustrated, whereupon the-apron I8 is auto- 50 matically driven continuously, and deriving enormous heat from the furnace II traverses over the snow bank 42 upon the roadway and-thereby annihilates it by melting it instantly, as illustrated in Fig. 1. 55

In the practice of annihilating snow with the machine of this invention, a squad of the machines should be utilized simultaneously, in the manner illustrated by the diagram, Fig. 4, two of the machines being driven adjacent to the curbstones 42 and the remainder in the formation shown, .whereby resulting water will readily run off into the gutters and sewers without liability of freeezing, and the entire street roadway will be quickly and efficiently cleared of all snow. It

- will be evident that a squad of machines operating in above manner will be able to clear up many miles of street roadways per hour, and that if so utilized from the early stages of a snowfall will be capable of entirely preventing any packing of the snow or its conversion into ice, both of which occurrences'are so detrimental to its eradication.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron located partially within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, and means to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the-y roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow.

2. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron located partially Within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, and means operated by the movement of the vehicle to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for'thereupon annihilating the snow.

3. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron located partially Within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, automotive means for propelling said vehicle, and means operated by said automotive means to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow.

4. A snow annihilating machine having the combination ofv a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron located partially within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, automotive means for propelling said vehicle, and means operated by the movement of the vehicle and by said automotive means to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow.

5. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron consisting of chains and a series of cylinders strung on said chains, said apron located partially within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proxJ imity to the roadway, and means to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow.

6. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehic1e,'a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron consisting of chains and a series of liquid-filled cylinders strung on said chains, said apron rlocated partially within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, and means to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow.

7. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron located partially within said furnace to be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, means to drive said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow, and said furnace having an exhaust extending to the underside of the vehicle.

8. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron located partially within said furnace to be heated thereby and-par'- tially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, means to drive said apron while ther vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow,.

and said furnace having an exhaust extending to the underside of the vehicle and directed toward said apron portion in proximity to the roadway.

9. A snow annihilating machine having the combination of a vehicle, a furnace mounted on said vehicle, an endless apron consisting of chains, a series of cylinders strung on said chains, said apron located partially within said furnaceto be heated thereby and partially on the exterior underneath said furnace and in proximity to the roadway, a sprocket meshing with said cylinders, and means to rotate said sprocket for driving said apron while the vehicle is propelled to convey the heated portions of said apron onto the roadway for thereupon annihilating the snow.

BENJAMIN ROMAN.

CFA 

